NFL Supercoach Week 5 | Buy, Hold, Sell

Buy

James Cook ($21.16m, Buffalo Bills RB, 32 BE, 10% ownership)

I’m sold! Cook is the real deal.

The Bills signed this guy to a big offseason extension, and for good reason.

I spoke on the podcast this week about the RB position being crucial for its consistent with big scores, so why not go for the bloke who’s scored the most points?

He’s seeing plenty of volume with the 4th most carries and turned that into 401 yards, as well as leading the league in rushing TD’s with 5.

He hasn’t had a huge amount of receptions, but that doesn’t concern me if he’s going to be rushing for around 20 carries a game.

Cook to me is the number one option to buy this week because he is the number 1 scoring RB, but he also has a relatively low ownership compared to guys like Barkley, Gibbs, Robinson, and CMC. 

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Travis Etienne Jr. ($12.48m, Jacksonville Jaguars RB, 6 BE, 7% ownership)

It’s been a comeback year for the Jaguars’ running back.

Going into the season, rumours were swirling that he’d be traded or lose the starting job to backup RB Tank Bigsby or rookie RB Bhayshul Tuten.

Etienne has responded by having the 3rd most rushing yards in the league at 394 off 65 carries.

The offense is being unleashed through Etienne, and it doesn’t seem like that will change anytime soon.

Brian Thomas Jr and Travis Hunter were expected to be the focus of the offense under new head coach Liam Coen, but it’s clear through the first quarter of the year that this team will be spearheaded by Etienne.

To get the 3rd leading rusher at a mid tier RB price is incredibly enticing to me.

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Christian McCaffrey ($20.28m, San Fran 49ers RB, 26 BE, 37% ownership)

Prior to the season, like every season, my concerns with CMC were largely due to his health.

So far, so good on that front.

CMC has 225 rushing yards on 69 carries, which obviously isn’t the greatest, but this isn’t why you’re getting him.

CMC has 31 receptions and 305 receiving yards with 2 TD’s, which puts him up for over 500 yard all-purpose yards through the first 4 games of the year, which is insane for a RB.

With top receiver Aiyuk still out until at least week 6, expect Purdy to throw to his main weapon more often than not.

As it stands, CMC has 11 more receptions than last week’s buy option Ricky Pearsall.

With an average of just under 40 points and a low score of 36, CMC is a guy you know will consistently produce at a high rate and not let you down. 

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Jaxson Dart ($4.3m, New York Giants QB, -22 BE, 2% ownership)

The Giants moved up in the draft to select this Star Wars-loving Anakin Skywalker look-alike and have given him the keys to the empire after only 4 weeks.

Dart has such high upside with his dual threat ability, making defences 2nd guess themselves.

Combine that with the threat of downhill runner Skattebo, and Dart is an awesome option for your Supercoach team.

Like many people, I started with McCarthy on my bench, and I’d be happy to wait til his price rises, but I’m now questioning whether or not it will due to an apparent QB completion in Minnesota.

Bringing in Dart could lead to more Cash and more points, and you could play him in the all-important week 7 bye week when most of us will lose both Lamar and Allen.

Losing Nabers hurts a lot, but I’d be happy to take a punt on a guy who is a legit dual threat.

Will he continue down the light side and put up good scores for coaches or fall to the dark side and be a regretful buy?

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Quentin Johnston ($14.79m, LA Chargers WR, 16 BE, 7% ownership)

I said at the start of the year, after the 1st wee,k that we’ve seen 1 of Johnston’s 3 good games for the year.

Well, through 4 weeks he’s the 3rd leading receiver yardage wise with 337 and is equal 3rd in receiving touchdowns with 4.

He’s finally living up to his 1st round selection status, and it’s time to jump on board.

Receiver has been so so hard to find consistency this year with the usual suspects either not performing to their usual standards or being victims of poor QB play.

For that reason, it’s crucial that we start getting in consistent performers, and for me, Johnston looks to be one of those.

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George Pickens ($14.58m, Dallas Cowboys WR, -11 BE, 5% ownership)

Ceedee Lamb is out for the next few weeks, and Pickens is going to be his productive replacement for QB Dak Prescott.

In one of the craziest games of the year, Pickens stepped up in a big way with 8 catches, 134 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

He’s already slotted into the top 10 for receiving yards on the year and is equal 3rd with 4 receiving touchdowns.

He’s had at least 65 receiving yards in 3 out of 4 games so far, so the production is there.

I think he’s a great plug-and-play option for at least the next few weeks, and he’ll make you plenty of coin if he keeps this production up.

My concern is what happens when Lamb gets back?

Are you going to keep him for the rest of the year or burn another trade and get him out of there?

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Quinshon Judkins ($7.35m, Cleveland Browns RB, -30 BE, 8% ownership)

He missed the first few games of the year and has come out with a point to prove.

In his 1st price rise of the season, Judkins went up $3.1m and is set to go up at least another $2.5 this week.

It may be annoying that you’ve missed out on him at his initial rookie price, however, if you’re looking to swap out a Harvey or Henderson, this is your guy.

The browns are a bad team; we all know that, however, Judkins is making the most of his opportunities.

Since taking the reigns as the clear-cut RB1, he’s put up 31 and 38 points.

If you’re looking for a high upside difference maker, Judkins could be your guy. 

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Hold

Drake London ($13.69m, Atlanta Falcons WR, 14BE, 15% ownership) 

London had his best game of the year this past week, putting up a Supercoach score of 42.

The Falcons have a bye this week, which isn’t ideal, however, if you have the ability to put him in your reserves for the week and have another receiver start, I’d be backing that.

Penix is going to have inconsistent QB play this year, which will be frustrating at times however, I think with such an early bye and serious upside, London could be one of the players you want in your team at the end of the year.

The targets have been there all year; he’s tied 9th, it’s just been the receiving yards that coaches have been waiting on.

He’s a guy I’ll be looking at very closely over the next part of the season, keep him.

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Brock Bowers ($11.85m, Las Vegas Raiders TE, 33 BE, 47% ownership)

Another of the more disappointing players this season, Bowers has been traded out in the top 10 most trades the last 2 weeks running.

Bowers isn’t the problem, its Geno Smith.

Personally, I’ll be holding and showing faith that Bowers will come good.

With Jeanty having his breakout game, I’d expect the Raiders game to open up more as long as they establish the run.

Bowers will reap the rewards from this as long as Geno can get him the ball.

TE is a tough position this year with Warren and McBride being the most consistent scorers; the rest seem to be outliers, so don’t panic if you’re not getting on some of these guys.

The targets are there, we just need to see Bowers convert territory to points now, expect to see this team ascend over the next 4 weeks, and Bowers to be leading that with Jeanty. 

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Rome Odunze ($13.96m, Chicago Bears WR, 17 BE, 37% ownership)

Don’t trade him out because of the bye!!!

Most coaches trading him out, I’d assume, are the same ones who traded him in only a few weeks ago.

Remember, we have LIMITED trades this year.

If you can stash him on your bench, do it.

The Bears look to be clicking under new head coach Ben Johnson, which is leading to unlocking Caleb Williams.

Odunze is one of the few consistent receivers in Supercoach, so don’t get rid of him when you don’t have to. 

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Sell

Ja’Marr Chase ($19.91m, Cinci Bengals WR, 84 BE, 45% ownership) 

One serving of humble pie please.

I hate to be writing this, but he has to go.

The Bengals, without Joe Burrow, could genuinely be the worst team in football.

Browning has looked atrocious under centre, but you can’t blame him with that terrible O-Line.

The Broncos were on Browning and Chase Brown almost as soon as the ball was snapped.

With that happening, how is Chase going to produce?

He’s lost $3.7m on the season already and is set to lose another $3m this week, you can’t keep him.

He’s tied 6th for receptions but is 20th in receiving yards and only has 1 TD on the year.

Unless things drastically change over the next few weeks, I won’t be bringing him back.

I will be monitoring him closely to see what numbers are like and possibly try and buy him back at a cheaper price, but for now, he has to go. 

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Ladd McConkey ($11.24m, LA Chargers WR, 44 BE, 9% ownership)

One of the most disappointing players this year by a country mile.

Ladd has scored only 49 Supercoach points through 4 weeks and has already lost 3.4m this season.

He’s not a bad player, he’s just incredibly unlucky that one of this week’s buy options, Johnston decided to put it all together.

Combine that with the return of Justin Herbert’s favourite target from his first few years, Keenan Allen, and you have a recipe for disaster.

I was high on Ladd in the preseason, but then was worried about the run game taking over too much, and for that reason, I didn’t pick him.

Regardless of why he isn’t performing, I’m stoked I don’t have him, and if I’m one of the 9% of coaches who own him, I’m aborting before he loses more cash.

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Cam Ward ($7.03m, Tennessee Titans QB, 2 BE, 27% ownership)

Ward was interviewed post-game and described his performance as ‘ass’ and this team as ‘ass’.

It’s hard to read between the lines, but I think the 27% of coaches who own him may be able to figure out that the rest of this season is going to be ass for them if Ward is on the team.

He’s going to have a low BE throughout the year and steadily make cash, but there are better options out there, like Jaxson Dart.

Ward is currently 26th in passing yards, tied 33rd for TD’s in a 32-team league, and 33rd for Quarterback rating.

All of this basically adds up to sell, sell, sell.

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Nick Chubb ($9.21m, Houston Texans WR, 24 BE, 6% owners)

It’s crazy that Chubb is owned by 6% of coaches.

Chubb hasn’t been great this year, and I’m concerned about him going forward with Joe Mixon due back in the coming weeks.

Houston has looked bad as a whole so far this year, and they’ve been playing from behind most of the time, which negatively affects Chubb’s output.

I think for his price point as well, you’re better off investing in someone like Judkins or Skattebo, who are around that same price. 

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Philly receivers AJ Brown ($13.65m, 30 BE, 4% ownership) and Devonta Smith ($13.65m, 28 BE, 2% ownership)

There are enough coaches who own these 2 for me to be concerned.

Philly is winning games, which is great, but it’s how they’re doing it.

Brown is currently 61st in the league for receptions with 14 and tied 66th for yardage with 151.

He’s one of the best receivers in the league, but he’s just not being used, and he’s quietly annoyed about it.

He’s had a decent amount of targets, but outside of a week 3 100-yard performance, he’s only been given the ball for short yardage gains.

Smith is 41st in the league for receptions and 65th for yards, pretty much on par with his no.1 receiver, Brown.

Philly has so many weapons and arguably the best running QB in the league, so we knew the passing game would take a backseat from time to time, just not this much.

Both are losing cash quickly, and there are better options out there at the same price.

Don’t get these or keep these guys.

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Trades and Captain

A couple of trades for me this week due to both injury and necessity.

The Nabers injury hurts.

I’d have liked to see what he could do with Dart under centre, but we’ll have to wait another year now. 

Last week I brought in Puka and am stoked with the outcome of that, and will be looking for a few of these guys to have a similar impact for me.

One thing I will be looking at is the status of Lamar Jackson.

If he’s out for a few weeks, I’ll have to change a trade to cover myself there. 

IN: Smith-Njigba, Quentin Johnston, and James Cook

OUT: Nabers, Chase, Irving

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Nabers to JSN was obvious to me.

JSN has the 2nd most yards in the league receiving and is consistently getting targeted, so welcome to the team.

Darnold is playing unbelievable ball and doesn’t look like he’ll slow down.

Let’s hope for a few more TD’s

Painful for me to trade out Chase, but I had to do it.

The single-digit scores are starting to kill my team.

I tossed up Pickens, but have gone with Johnston here because I view him as a long-term option and someone who may stay in my team for the rest of the year.

Both are doing great things on the field, but Johnston is in a higher upside team in my opinion.

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Was tossing this one up, but I think I need to get the No.1 RB in the league in sooner rather than later.

I tossed up CMC here, but went with Cook as he has a smaller ownership rate and could be more of a POD.

If the Bills have a bad day, my team will suffer, considering I have their 2 best players in my lineup, but it’s a risk I’m more than willing to take. 

The only thing I may do is trade out McCarthy for Dart if Lamar is injured and bring back in Irving.

I’m more scared to do that now, given Irving is under an injury cloud; however, I’ll need cover at the QB position if Lamar is out for a few weeks. 

For captaincy this week, I’m going to look at possibly looping Puka, who plays the Thursday night game this week.

If he puts up a 50/60 bomb, I will loop, otherwise, Josh Allen will be captain for something different this week.